In yet another horrifying incident of mob lynching, a local tourist in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province’s Swat district was brutally lynched to death and his body burnt to ashes in the middle of the road over accusation of blasphemy. The incident occurred in Madyan, a beautiful hill station in Swat, which gets flooded with tourists during the summer season. The mob first brutally thrashed the alleged blasphemer, a tourist from Punjab province’s Sialkot who was visiting Madyan and other areas around it. Later, as the police authorities arrested the tourist and took him into custody, the mob took matters into their own hands, torching the Madyan police station, dragging the tourist’s body outside and setting it on fire right in the middle of the road. The incident occurred after some individuals announced in a market that a man had committed blasphemy. The accused was apprehended by some people and handed over to police. But shortly afterward, announcements were made in the local mosques, calling on people to come out and punish the alleged blasphemer. “Announcements were heard from mosques, calling on people to come out and reach the Madyan police station,” said a local resident of Madyan. “The mob asked police to hand over the suspect to them but it was refused. Protesters forced their way into the police station. Police tried to disperse the crowd and shot some rounds of fire, which injured about eight people but could not stop the mob,” an eyewitness stated. “People then set fire to the police station and a police vehicle, while the accused was burnt alive,” confirmed Swat District Police Officer (DPO) Zahidullah. (IANS)
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